An occupant of a vehicle, whether that be the driver or passenger, may wish to eat and/or drink in the vehicle. This presents the problem of where to put food and drink containers and packages in the vehicle when these are not being held so as to minimize the risk of droppages and spillages. This problem is greatest for the driver when the vehicle is being driven but does still exist for the driver and passengers even when the vehicle is stationary.
Some vehicles have or provide places upon which an occupant can place food and drink. For example, many modern cars have an area of their dashboards shaped to be suitable for placing containers and packages of food and drink thereon. However, such places may be inadequate in size and location depending on the number and location of the occupants of the vehicle. Furthermore, such places are rarely satisfactory for supporting containers of drink while the vehicle is moving.
In the past, separate carrying devices have been made which are capable of being supported on the inside-of a vehicle door by the door itself. Usually it is possible to have at least one such carrying device supported by each door of the vehicle. The carrying devices are designed to carry containers and packages of food and drink and minimize the risk of droppages and spillages, even when the vehicle is moving. These types of carrying devices may be provided by fast food retail outlets.
A known carrying device (U.S. Design Pat. No. 226,623) has a body capable of carrying an object such as a container or package of food or drink. A fairly rigid hook arm projects from the body to enable the device to be releasably hooked onto the sill of a window in a door of the vehicle. The hook arm has a lateral portion which rests on the sill and a downwardly turned tongue at the free end which is slid alongside the window glass into the inner side of the channel in the sill within which the window glass is housed. It is desirable that the length of the lateral portion of the hook arm be such that the body of the device rests or can rest against the inside of the door. A problem arises in that different vehicles can have doors with different distances between the window channel and the inside of the door. If the lateral portion of the hook arm is longer than this distance, then the body of the device does not rest against the inside of the door bum is held clear of it. This means that the engagement of the device with the door is less secure and the body of the device is much more likely to be knocked or to bounce around, especially when the vehicle is moving. If the length of the lateral portion is too short then it is not possible to hook the device to the sill at all. It was with these problems in mind that the present invention was devised.